Unit 1.pdf - Southwest High School

Activity 1.19
continued
Two Different Worlds
My Notes
&
Grammar Usage
Notice the sentences on
this page in which Tan
uses direct quotations.
Writers use direct
quotations to develop
characters, to further
action, and to add life to
their writing.
Direct quotations are
always set off from the rest
of the text with quotation
marks. In addition,
they may require other
punctuation to convey
meaning or to clearly
distinguish what is quoted
from what is not quoted.
Always start a new
paragraph for each
speaker. Notice that the
narrator has one paragraph
for what she says and
another paragraph for
what her mother says.
So now the only Chinese words she can say are shsh, houche, chr fan, and
gwan deng shweijyau. How can she talk to people in China with these words
Pee-pee, choo-choo train, eat, close light sleep.
How can she think she can blend in Only her skin and her hair are
Chinese. Inside—she is all American-made.
It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best
combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could
I know these two things do not mix
I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor
here, it’s no lasting shame. You are first in line for a scholarship. If the roof
crashes on your head, no need to cry over this bad luck. You can sue anybody,
make the landlord fix it. You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree
letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head. You can buy an
umbrella. Or go inside a Catholic church. In America, nobody says you have
to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.
She learned these things, but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character.
How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show
your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face so you can take
advantage of hidden opportunities. Why easy things are not worth pursuing.
How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a
cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best.
No, this kind of thinking didn’t stick to her: She was too busy chewing
gum, blowing bubbles bigger than her cheeks. Only that kind of thinking
stuck.
“Finish your coffee,” I told her yesterday. “Don’t throw your blessings
away.”
“Don’t be so old-fashioned, Ma,” she told me, finishing her coffee down
the sink. “I’m my own person.”
And I think, How can she be her own person When did I give her up
Revisiting Your Draft: Reread your initial draft on being a stranger, and
identify an appropriate place to revise and add dialogue (e.g., to reveal
something about your characters or advance the narrative). Be sure to
adhere to the punctuation rules of dialogue.
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68 SpringBoard® English Textual Power Senior English